Distribution of Penicillium commune isolates in cheese dairies mapped using secondary metabolite profiles, morphotypes, RAPD and AFLP fingerprinting

In an 8-year study of the diversity and distribution of Penicillium commune contaminants in two different cheese dairies, swab and air samples were taken from the production plants, the processing environment and contaminated cheeses. A total of 321 Penicillium commune isolates were characterized using morphotypes (colony morphology and colours) and secondary metabolite profiles. Based on production of secondary metabolites the P. commune isolates were classified into 6 groups. The genetic diversity of the P. commune isolates was assessed using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). For a sub-set of 272 P. commune isolates RAPD analysis generated 33 RAPD groups whereas AFLP profiling revealed 55 AFLP groups. This study conclusively showed that the discriminatory power of AFLP was high compared to RAPD and that AFLP fingerprinting matched morphotyping. P. commune isolates with identical profiles using all four typing techniques were interpreted as closely related isolates with a common origin and the distribution of these isolates in the processing environment indicated possible contamination points in the cheese dairies. The coating process and unpacking of cheeses with growth of P. commune seemed to cause the contamination problems. Several identical P. commune isolates remained present in the processing environment for more than 7 years in both dairies.     

Oxidative changes in pork scratchings,peanuts, oatmeal and muesli viewed by fluorescence,near-infrared and infrared spectroscopy

The possibility of using rapid spectroscopic methods to detect lipid oxidation of four standard food products—peanuts, pork scratchings, oatmeal and muesli—were investigated in a large screening experiment. Fluorescence, near-infrared [including visual (Vis/NIR)] and infrared (IR) spectra have been recorded during and beyond the normal shelf lives of the products and related by means of multivariate data analysis to reference oxidation measures of free radicals and hexanal, as well as to sensory evaluation. For pork scratchings, the three spectroscopic techniques were able to monitor the progressing level of oxidation: IR with good correlation to hexanal (r²=0.86), Vis/NIR with good correlations to free radicals (r²=0.82) and fluorescence with good correlations to both free radicals (r²=0.76) and hexanal (r²=0.83). In the case of IR, the best result was obtained using the region including the out-of-plane C–H of trans-fatty acids. For the other three products, the results were generally inferior except for good correlations between fluorescence spectra and free radicals in peanuts (r²=0.73) and between Vis/NIR spectra and hexanal for muesli products (r²=0.8).     

Can spectroscopy in combination with chemometrics replace minks in digestibility tests?

One of the most relevant but expensive methods of assessing the quality of fish meal is the physiological digestibility test with minks. The purpose of this study was to determine whether spectroscopic and chemical analyses evaluated with chemometrics can replace minks in digestibility tests. The spectroscopic methods used were the two complementary techniques of fluorescence emission and near‐infrared reflectance. The investigation included 54 samples of high‐quality fish meal ranging from 89.6 to 93.9 on the mink digestibility index. The investigation also included determination of seven quality parameters in the fish meal to substantiate the spectroscopic models on the mink digestibility. These quality parameters include the content of protein, oil, water, water‐soluble protein, ash and the biogenic substance cadaverine as well as the titration value. The study demonstrates that the mink digestibility could be predicted from combining the two reference quality parameters oil and ash with a correlation coefficient of 0.89. The best spectroscopic calibration models on the mink digestibility resulted in a correlation coefficient of 0.94 and a prediction error of 0.5 using the near‐infrared spectral ensemble and a correlation coefficient of 0.92 and a prediction error of 0.5 using the fluorescence spectral ensemble. In addition, the seven reference quality parameters could be predicted from the spectroscopic ensembles with good precision. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry     

Consumer attitudes toward new technique for preserving organic meat using herbs and berries

This study aims to explore consumers' attitude toward a new preservation technique using herbs and berries in organic meat production, which enables to minimize the amount of chemical additives and to reduce the salt content in meat products. Consumer acceptance of the preservation technique using herbs and berries and intention to purchase products preserved with herbs and berries were investigated through a qualitative approach by means of three focus groups. In general, most participants were positive toward the preservation technique using herbs and berries and there were only few concerns related to the technique. Concerns were related not as much to the technique but more to the products. Four factors seem important in this relation: shelf life, taste, appearance and texture. The intention to purchase products preserved with herbs and berries is generally high, but is dependent on taste and appearance of the products, the price and information level.     

Electroremediation of air pollution control residues in a continuous reactor

Air pollution control (APC) residue from municipal solid waste incineration is considered hazardous waste due to its alkalinity and high content of salts and mobile heavy metals. Various solutions for the handling of APC-residue exist, however most commercial solutions involve landfilling. A demand for environmental sustainable alternatives exists and electrodialysis could be such an alternative. The potential of electrodialysis for treating APC-residue is explored in this work by designing and testing a continuous-flow bench-scale reactor that can work with a high solids content feed solution. Experiments were made with raw residue, water-washed residue, acid washed residue and acid-treated residue with emphasis on reduction of heavy metal mobility. Main results indicate that the reactor successfully removes toxic elements lead, copper, cadmium and zinc from the feed stream, suggesting that the electrodialytic technique is an alternative to land deposition of APC-residues.     

Kinetics of electrodialytic extraction of Pb and soil cations from a slurry of contaminated soil fines

The objective of this work was to investigate the kinetics of Pb-removal from soil fines during electrodialytic remediation in suspension, and study the simultaneous dissolution of common soil cations (Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na and K). This was done to evaluate the possibilities within control of the remediation process to leave a final product suitable for reuse. The Pb-remediation process could be divided into four phases: (1) a "lag-phase", (2) a period with a high removal rate (7.4 mg/day in average at 40 mA), (3) a period with a low removal rate, and (4) a period where no further Pb-removal was obtained. During the first phase, dissolution of carbonates was the prevailing process, resulting in a corresponding loss of soil mass. During this phase, the investigated ions accounted for the major current transfer, while, as remediation proceeded, hydrogen ions increasingly dominated the transfer. During phase (3) the high conductivity and low voltage suggested that removal may be accelerated by increasing the current density. Overall, 97% of the Pb could be extracted, reducing the final Pb-concentration to 25 mg/kg. The order of removal rates was: Ca>Pb>Mn>Mg>K>(Al and Fe).     

The effects of shoulder load and pinch force on electromyographic activity and blood flow in the forearm during a pinch task

The object of the current study was to determine whether static contraction of proximal musculature has an effect on the blood flow more distally in the upper extremity. Static contractions of muscles in the neck shoulder region at three levels (relaxed, shoulders elevated and shoulders elevated loaded with 4.95 kg each) were combined with intermittent pinch forces at 0, 10 and 25% of the maximum voluntary contraction (MVC). Blood flow to the forearm was measured with Doppler ultrasound. Myoelectric activity of the forearm and neck-shoulder muscles was recorded to check for the workload levels. Across all levels of shoulder load, blood flow increased significantly with increasing pinch force (21% at 10% MVC and by 44% at 25% MVC). Blood flow was significantly affected by shoulder load, with the lowest blood flow at the highest shoulder load. Interactions of pinch force and shoulder load were not significant. The myoelectric activity of forearm muscles increased with increasing pinch force. The activation of the trapezius muscle decreased with increasing pinch force and increased with increasing shoulder load. The precise mechanisms accounting for the influence of shoulder load remains unclear. The results of this study indicate that shoulder load might influence blood flow to the forearm.     

Effects of electromyographic and mechanomyographic biofeedback on upper trapezius muscle activity during standardized computer work

The purpose of this laboratory study was to investigate the effects of surface electromyography (EMG)- and mechanomyography (MMG)-based audio and visual biofeedback during computer work. Standardized computer work was performed for 3 min with/without time constraint and biofeedback in a randomized order. Biofeedback was given on the basis of an individual preset threshold value for the right trapezius EMG and MMG signal and a time factor (repetition of events above the threshold). The duration of muscle activity above the preset threshold, the right trapezius EMG and MMG root mean square (RMS) values as well as the work performance in terms of number of completed graph/mouse clicks/errors, the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and the usefulness of the biofeedback were assessed. The duration of muscle activity above the threshold was significantly lower with MMG compared with EMG as source of biofeedback (p < 0.05). Biofeedback led to a significant decrease in the right trapezius EMG RMS, lower RPE and decreased number of errors and mouse clicks, but also decreased number of completed graphs (p < 0.05). Audio and visual biofeedbacks were as effective. MMG-based biofeedback is a potential reliable alternative to EMG in ergonomics. A lowering of the trapezius muscle activity may contribute to diminish the risk of work related musculoskeletal disorders development.     

Variations in Oncology Consultations: How Dictation Allows Variations to be Documented in Standardized Ways

In-between 2016 and 2017 a new hospital information system (HIS) was introduced at several hospitals in Denmark radically changing the core work practices for a majority of the healthcare professionals. Promptly, the new HIS began to receive criticism from healthcare professionals for failing to live up to proclaimed expectations. To fully understand the problems experienced by the healthcare professionals we need to understand the fundamental nature of the work prior to the implementation. In this paper, we investigate patient consultations as they were performed prior to the implementation of the HIS at an oncology department. Reporting from a 1.5 year-long study, we find patient consultations were organized in three sequential activities: review, interaction, and documentation. Further, we find that the dictaphone served as a key artifact allowing physicians to enact flexibility in documentation while simultaneously providing them with the capability to communicate and coordinate with the medical secretaries. Our empirical findings suggest that the medical secretaries are critical for structured documentation of variations in health data and are the cornerstones that allow physicians to enact sentimental efforts when interacting with patients. These insights prove important in understanding the criticism aimed at the new HIS implementation since the implementation removed the dictaphone as a key artifact and instead introduced a new organizational structure where documentation was assumed accomplished in parallel with patient interaction. The transformation consequently shifted work, previously performed by the medical secretaries, to the physicians.